BAY CITY -- Forget what the history, the records, the odds or anything else suggested.Bay City Central came into its game with No. 7-ranked Midland believing it could play with one of the best girls basketball teams in the state.And a down-to-the-wire 51-48 loss only made the Wolves believe all the more."This game just shows the heart of this team," Central coach Todd Thunberg said. "They always believe in themselves."This team showed it can compete with anybody. Now we just have to get over the hump and win some of these close games against (the top teams)."

Dow (19-2) withstood an all-out push from Central (11-10) to advance to Friday's 7 p.m. title game in the Class A district tournament at Central. The Chemics take on Midland Dow for the crown.That prospect remained in doubt until the very end Wednesday, as a gritty Central squad came out in full upset mode. The Wolves led 19-18 at the half before falling in an 11-point hole -- only to scratch back to make it a one-possession game."I just kept thinking 'Somebody hit a three!'" said Central senior Desarae Lee. "But it feels good to know that our last game as seniors, the whole team came out and gave it our all."Sophomore Addyson Tomczak scored 17 points, senior Leah Humes tallied 11 and Lee added nine for the Wolves (11-10), who finished with the program's first winning record for the first time since 2004.But, in the end, Saginaw Valley League champion Midland had too many weapons and too much Jessica Walter. The senior all-stater poured in 24 points, keeping the pressure on Central from start to finish."It's not a one-person game," Midland coach Elaine Mahabir said."But in situations like the end of the game, it's nice to have a ballhandler who isn't going to panic and make bad decisions. Plus, she takes up so much attention that the other kids just have to do their job, whether it's getting an offensive board or making a steal or just catching a pass."Lily Hami had her chance to contribute and jumped at it with a pair of big buckets. The senior drained a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to send the Chemics into the lockerroom with a jolt of momentum. Then she opened the fourth quarter with a three-point play that pushed the lead to 37-27 and put the Wolves in a big hole.Central went on a 9-0 run, keyed by a 3-pointer by Tomczak and a steal and layup from Lee, that ensured it would be a game until the end. But Midland got two inside buckets from Emily Resmer and four free throws from Walter in the final two minutes to hold on."The girls felt confident coming in because we were ahead by one point against them each time we played them," Thunberg said. "The question was could we withstand the run they would make in the second half? They had that run again tonight, but this time we brought it back."The Wolves couldn't finish with the win, but bowed out having won eight of their final 11 games.